The invention is generally intended for use in the grooming of golf courses, particularly the greens thereof.
Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,646 sets forth the procedures involved in the complete grooming process, and is specifically concerned with the final grooming step.
The apparatus of the present invention, to the contrary, involves an intermediate step. More particularly, as an initial step in grooming a green, an aerator is used to form multiple fertilizer-accommodating holes in the green, approximately 5/8 inches in diameter and four inches apart. The holes are formed by the removal of plugs of material. These plugs, along with any thatch which might have accumulated on the green, must be removed prior to the final grooming step.
While flail type machines have been used for this purpose, they have not been very effective for a breaking up and redistributing of the plugs and thatch, particularly under wet or damp conditions. It is also has been proposed to use drag mats or blowers, both of which have also proved to be generally ineffective in properly removing the debris. Further, such procedures, at best, merely accumulate the debris to the side of the green or in the rough whereat the material is frequently left to slowly decompose, or must be manually removed.